Improvement in automatic car-brakes



v 3 Sheets--Sheet1.

W. V. ROBBINS.

Automatic Car-Brakes.

Patented March,3,1874,.

9 l a o ai -mai 1 2;"-

Witnesses Inventor:

A, W ML. 7 0

3 Sheets Shee'E 3.

Patented March 3 1874.

w. vi RGBBINS, Automatic Car-Brakes.

Fzf.

..n y, Jr? w Fag 7 Witness 8 i FFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent N0- 14S,092, dated March 3,1874; application filed October 18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM V. ROBBINS, of Bloomsburg, Columbia county,State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Steam-CarBrakes, of which the following is a specification:

The first part of my invention consists in so constructing and adaptingbrakes to steam and other car wheels that they shall beselfoperating-that is, the brakes shall be opened and shut by the actionof one car against the other. The second part consists in an arrangementof levers, whereby the brake is instantly thrown out of gear, and thewheels as instantly relieved when motion is required. The third partconsists in so adapting the brake-shoe to the wheel that the center ofmotion in the former shall always be perpendicular to the surface of thelatter, making its action invariably uniform, and thereby of thegreatest efficiency, as will more fully appear from the accompanyingdrawings. 7 I

Figure 1 is a top view of the frame A A, or substructure of the car, ofthe brake-beamA, of the cross-beams B B, firmly bound together by theking-bolts f f, the brake-head B, and the roller 0, with itsattachments,

more particularly described below. Fig. 2 is a top view, the frame beingremoved, showing the two brake-beams A A, the brake-shoes A A, the lowercross-beam B, the roller G, the crooked levers D D, andother minordetails, hereafter described. Fig. 3 is a side view of the front or rearof the car, showing the frame A, a vertical section of the cross beams BB, brake-shoes A A, the extremities of the brake-beams A A, and thelooped or slotted rods 1) I). Fig. 1 is a side vertical View on thesection line 9 y, Fig. 1, showing the brake-head B, jointed lever O G,the crooked lever D, and their several attachm ents,

' and the brake-shoes A A, in an unlocked position; Fig. 5, same view asFig. 4, on sec tion line a; 00, Fig. 1, showing the balancebar A E andits fulcrum f, or attachment to the cross-beam B, and the brakeadjustment 5 Fig. 6, same view as Fig. 4, showing the brake-shoes A A inlocked position, and the line of motion of said brake-shoes and of thewheels to be identical, as shown by the dotted lines a b. Fig. 7 is afront elevation, showing the brakehead B, the friction-rods f f, crookedlevers D D, brake beams and shoes A and A. Figs. 8 and 9 are details ofFig. 4, showing the roller 0, crooked levers D D, and their severalattachments.

A A, Fig. 1, is the frame or substructure of the car, constructed in theusual form and style, into which are framed the cross-beams B B, whichare themselves strongly bound together by iron king-bo1tsff, and towhich is attached the running-gear. A A, Fig. 2, are two woodenbrake-beams, located before and behind each set of wheels, to the endsof which, on the inside, are attached the brakeshoes A A. Said beams aresustained in their places by the looped or slotted rods b 1), Figs. 3and A, the upper ends of said rods being fastened to the frame by thestaples b 1), same figures. The method of working said beams ishereafter described. The brake-shoes A A, Figs. 3 and 4, are made offirm, durable wood, securely bolted to the extremities of thebrake-beams on their insides, and form a part of the same circle as thesurface of the wheels upon which they act. f f are two ironfriction-rods, located 011 either side of the brakehead B, just withinand near the front of the cavity in which the said brake-head works, andare designed to protect the front of the frame from the influence ofheavy blows, and the too great friction, or, better, to lessen thefriction, of the brake-head running along a wooden surface. B B, Fig. 1,are two short beams, forming part of the substructure, running in thedirection of the superior length of the car, about two feet apart,strongly framed into the crossbeams B B and the front beam A of theframe, to which the brake-head B, next described, and its attachmentsare more directly connected. B, Figs. at and 6, is a brake-head, of theusual length, of solid iron, or other suitable metal, the front end aparallelogram about eight inches by three and onehalf or four, retainingthose dimensions about one-fourth to one-third of its length, when fromthe shoulders 60 a! it becomes a round 7 shaft, slightly taperedrearward. About three.-

fourths of its length, measured from the front end, said shaftpassesthrough the metal bar a, same figures as above, of sufiicientstrength to sustain the draft of a train of cars, said bar I beingfirmly set into the beams B B. At

the point where the shaft passes through, and just within said bar, astrong iron bolt, h, passes through and at right angles to said shaft,which is the method of draft. h is a metal spiral spring, of moderatestrength, loosely coiled about the shaft of the brakehead, and attachedto the outside of bar a. and to the brake-head at the shoulders a a,whereby the bolt h is kept snug up to the bar a when the car is in astate of rest, or the brake-head is not being acted upon, which preventsjarring or pounding when the cars are first put in mot-ion. Immediatelyin the rear, 011 the same line and in contact with said brake-head, isthe jointed lever O 0, Figs. 4 and 6, jointed at O, the front horizontalarm being designated by O, the rear perpendicular arm by G. The frontend of the front arm 0 is made in the form of a stirrup, C, Fig. 9, withsquare shoulders, the sides or legs of said stirrup being about threeinches long, pierced near their extremities 0 0, Fig. 8, to admit thepassage of the gudgeons d d, hereafter described. Carefully adjusted instirrup c, by means of the gudgeons d (1, Figs. 1 and 8, as above,secured by common nuts, is a solid iron roller, 0, Figs. 1 and 9, twoand a half inches in diameter, six inches in length, more or less, asstrength requires, sufficient to sustain a blow incident to the backwardmotion of a train of cars, said roller being in exact line, and forminga part of the front arm 0 of the jointed lever O O. The front arm 0 iscomparatively short, only long enough to form said stirrup c, and thelong mortise or joint 0,

which receives the arm 0. Said perpendicular arm 0 is about three feetin length, and at about one-fourth the distance from its lower extremityto the joint 0. By means of ametal portable mortise, h, Figs. 4 and 6,and bolt as a fulcrum, it is firmly fastened to the crossbeam B. Oneither side, equidistant above and below said fulcrum, extending inopposite directions, hooked or looped into said arm 0, are rods d d,connecting the arm with the brake-beams A A at their centers on theinside. The lower rod 61 attaches to said arm at its extremity, andreaches backward. The jointed lever C C is iron. The arm 0 is about twoand one-half inches by one and one-half, the arm 0 about three inches bythreefourths of an inch. D D, Figs. 4 and 8, are two crooked levers,made of iron, 'two to three I inches wide, threefourths of an inchthick,

fastened to the front end of the jointed lever G C by passing thegudgeons d (I through their upper rear extremities, and secured by thenuts referred to above. For about one-third their length said leverscurve downward and forward, when they continue in a straight line to thefront brake-beam A, to which, at points about half-way between theircenters and extremities, they are fastened to the upper side of saidbeams by the portable mortises c 0,

Figs. 4 and 8, and bolts. Very near and just in advance of the pointwhere the curve in said levers changes to a straight line, by means ofthe portable mortises e 0, same figures, and bolts as fulcrums, theselevers are fastened to the under sides of the short beams B B, samefigures. E E, Figs. 5 and 6, are two iron balance bars, about threeinches wide, three-fourths of an inch thick, from either end gentlycurving upward, then downward to the centers, located just inside thewheels, and just outside the crooked levers D D, firmly attached attheir centers by the portable mortises ff, as fulcrums, to the lowercross-beam B, and, by a similar device, 6 e, to the top of the front andrear brake-beams A A. The orifices through the ends of the balance-barsE E and crooked levers D D are slotted, giving them free, and a somewhatenlarged, motion. The tendency of the action of the jointed lever O G,and its'peculiar office, is to draw the brake-shoes A A down upon thesurface of the wheels, without regard to the line of motion. Thetendency of the action of the crooked levers D D is by the same amountor gage of motion as given by the said jointed lever, and its peculiaroffice is to give to the said brake-shoes a segmental motion, wherebythe center of motion in the brakes and wheels is made identical, asillustrated by the dotted lines a b. The office of the balancebars E Eis to communicate to the rear brakes precisely the same motion andchanges as are given to the front brakes by the instrumentalities aboveset forth. H, Fig. 3, is a common hand-brake, having the usual locationand attachments, for use as occasion may require.

It may here be remarked that, the great weight of a car, or moreespecially of a train of cars, being the force to work the brakepower,the time and space required to change the most rapid speed to completerest are only limited by the strength of the machinery and the safety ofthe freight borne by the cars.

N. B. When the term jointed lever is used in the last of the followingclaims, it is to be understood that all parts of the structure areincluded, namely, the arms C and C, roller 0, stirrup c, and gudgeons dd, Figs. 4, 8, and 9. Also, when the term brake-head is used in the sameclaim, it is understood to include the main shaft B, the spiral springh, the guide-bar a, the draft-bolt h, and friction-rods f f, Figs. 1 and6.

I claim- 1. The arms G and G, constitutingthe jointed lever G C, incombination with the crooked levers D D, as and for the purposespecified.

2. The brake-beams A A, in combination with the brake-shoes A A, bars E,provided with links 0 e, crooked levers D D, fulcrums c e, and connectedwith armO by rods 61 d, and with the frame A by rods 1) b, as and forthe purpose specified.

3. Roller O, with stirrup c on arm 0, supported by crooked levers D D bymeans of gudgeons d d, and secured by common nuts, as and for thepurpose specified.

brake-beams being hung to theframe A by rods I), and connected with arm0 by rods or chains d, and the balance-bar E being connected to thetruck by the yoke f, all as and for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM V. ROBBINS.

Witnesses J. M. ROBBINS, R. B. ANGELL.

